Long Sleeves for the Summer
by Islamgirl
Summary: A new student comes to WMHS showing two Glee members that life is a lot more than just singing.  A Glee member's difficult past comes reluctantly out in the open.  Will this change how everyone looks at her?  Or just that certain someone?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - A Tike story, with a heavy undertone. Yes, there are Original Characters in the story, but they play an important part to the story, but it is primarily a Tike story.**

**.**

"Mr. Schuester. I have someone who would be awesome in Glee." Tina Cohen-Chang said with a smile. "She's just moved here and tomorrow will be her first day of school."

Will Schuester, or Mr. Shue, looked up from the papers he was grading. "That's great Tina, get her to come along."

"There's a p-problem Mr. Shue. Ms. Sylvester is going to get her before we do. H-have you heard the name Layla Ahmed before?" The Asian girl asked, trying to keep her stutter down.

"It sounds familiar, but I'm not sure why." Will replied putting his pen down.

"She's the youngest individual w-winner at the n-national cheerleading c-championships." Tina explained. "Her dad works for the same firm as my dad and I overheard t-that he was getting t-transferred from M-Minnesota to L-Lima." She gave a shy smile. "Layla and I m-met at a summer camp a c-couple of y-years ago, and Mr Shue, she can sing and dance with the best of them. S-she would be great in Glee. A-and her younger brother Jamal, h-he's amazing."

"I'll see what I can do Tina. Can you write their names for me? What grades are they in?"

"Layla, she's a sophomore, like us. And Jamal, he's a freshman." She wrote the names neatly on the notepad. "Mr. Shue, we need more people in Glee…and after our p-placing at Regionals…"

"I know Tina. Thanks for the heads up."

The tiny Asian girl flounced from his office. Will sighed and opened his laptop. He typed Layla Ahmed into Google and watched as 4, 945 hits popped up. He clicked on the first one and stared at the article on the screen. **15-year-old Wows at National Cheerleading Competition. 15-year-old Layla Ahmed stuns crowd. Small but mighty, Ahmed floors judges.**

The pictures were of a girl, tiny with dark curly hair and bright eyes, wearing a smile from ear to ear. One headline caught his eye. **At 15, Ahmed retires from cheerleading.** He continued through the article, reading about how two ACL injuries and a cracked vertebrae in her back from overtraining forcing her into an early retirement. The picture was the same girl, in a neck brace and on a stretcher leaving a cheerleading competition. Will sighed. If the girl had half the talent in singing and half the determination that she had in cheerleading, she would make the team better.

Typing in her brother's name, less articles came up, but more than most kids. **12-year-old Jamal Ahmed wins Little League World Series for MidWest. **A picture of a boy with short blonde hair and dark eyes graced the page. Will shook his head. Hopefully, if what Tina was saying was true, he could get them to both join Glee.

.

Mike Chang watched Tina with a careful stare, his dark eyes following her carefully. She always sat quietly between Mercedes and Artie, and with the two of them she easily blended into the background. Mercedes drew attention to herself with her flash and personality and Artie with his chair. Though, he wasn't one to talk, hanging around with Finn and Puck. She sat quietly in her red plaid pants and black long sleeved shirt. She almost always wore long sleeved shirts, and if she ever wore something shorter it wasn't for very long and she usually wore gloves.

"Hey." He said quietly, leaning forward on his elbows.

She shivered and turned around at the sound of his voice. "Hi."

"Do you know what songs we're doing today?"

She shook her head. "No…"

"Oh." He gave her a small smile. They were so different, he was in the cool group, a football player, a slushie thrower. She was different, she was an outcast, a goth and on the receiving end of the slushies. But they were also so similar. There were only three Asian families in Lima. Their parents were friends. They were both quiet, almost painfully so, and both used glee to get out of their shells. "I like your pants."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He looked down at his hands, smiling shyly.

"I have two more people that m-might join Glee." She said softly.

"Really? Cool. Two girls?"

"No. A girl I knew from camp a few years ago, and her brother."

"Oh, what's her name?"

"Layla Ahmed."

"Layla Ahmed? THE Layla Ahmed?" Santana Lopez leaned forward. "YOU know THE Layla Ahmed?"

Tina shrugged. "Y-yeah. Like I said…we m-met at camp."

"And she's coming HERE? To William McKinley High School?" Santana nudged Brittany. "Layla Ahmed is coming here."

The blonde titled his head sideways. "That short kid?"

Santana rolled her eyes and raised her hand. "Mr. Schue? Is it true that you're going to ask Layla Ahmed to come to Glee?"

"We'll see." He pointed to the piano player. "Okay, let's try the next number…"

.

Tina waited outside the main doors, hoping to catch Layla before the Cheerios got to her. She was easy to spot. All of 5'3, with dark curls and crutches she stood out.

"Laaaaaaaayla!"

The girl turned around slowly. "CiCi!" She hobbled towards her. They met with a tentative hug.

"What did you d-do?"

"Cheerleading." The small girl shrugged. "Work hazard." Her blue eyes shone. "My mom said that you wanted to talk to us about something." She motioned to the tall boy standing behind her. "Remember Jamal?"

Tina smiled. "Oh…hi Jamal."

The boy nodded in acknowledgement. He was a freshman, but he also knew how schools worked and kids that looked like Tina Cohen-Chang weren't in the cool group.

"I-I wanted to talk to you guys about joining Glee club." Tina mumbled. "W-we're looking for more people…and w-we're pretty good."

Layla nodded. "Well seeing as I'm not going to be doing cheerleading anytime soon…Why not?"

"Jamal?"

The boy shook his head. "Nuh uh. I play football. And baseball. And hockey. And lacrosse. I DON'T sing and dance."

Rolling her eyes, Layla pulled her sleeves down over her hands. "He'll be there." She started hobbling towards the door. "I will be…if I make it through the day." She shot Tina a smile. Tina smiled back, rushing to catch up to her friend.

"Here l-let me carry your stuff." Tina said with a smile. She pulled her long sleeves over her hands.

"Thanks."

.

"We have two new members here for Glee." Will started motioning to Layla who was sitting with Mercedes and Tina and Jamal who looked like he was trying to blend into the wall. "Layla and Jamal Ahmed. Do either one of you want to show us what you've got?"

Tina nudged Layla. "Come on Layla. Sing something!"

The tiny girl stood up and tottered on her crutches. She slowly made her to the piano and whispered something to the piano player. He started playing a slow jazz song. Layla opened her mouth and a voice, far too large for her small frame came blaring out.

"Rusted brandy in a diamond glasseverything is made from dreamstime is made from honey slow and sweetonly the fools know what it meansTemptation, temptation, temptationoh temptation, temptation I can't resistOui, je 'il est fait fumeOui, je me suis a moi de jouer."

She stopped and turned to the rest of the Glee Club. The kids exchanged glances before Tina stood up and rushed up to her friend. "I t-told you Mr. Shue, she's awesome."

Will nodded in agreement. "I have to say Layla, that was incredible."

The girl smiled. "Thanks." She hobbled back to the seat and sat down with a heavy thud.

Santana leaned over. "That was great. I'm Santana. We met at Nationals. I'm one of your biggest fans."

Layla groaned and hid her head in her hands. "I'm retired from cheerleading Santana. But thanks."

"Okay, Jamal. How about you?"

The boy dug the toe of his shoe into the tile. "Nah, I'm not much of a singer. He blushed. I'm more into football." He said deepening his voice momentarily.

Mike laughed. "Don't worry kid. So are we. We aren't going to judge you." He gave him a soft shove. "If we know the song you want to sing, we'll even sing it with you, right Matt?"

Matt nodded. "Sure."

"So will the rest of us." Finn added with a smile.

Jamal sighed. "Okay. He stood up and waited for the rest of the guys join him. He said something softly and Mike nodded. "Yeah, I know that." He went over the stereo system and flipped through the Ipod for a second before pressing start.

Will chuckled when he heard the choice of song. Mike started the dancing, with Matt and Jamal quickly following.

"A little less conversation, a little more action pleaseAll this aggravation ain't satisfactioning meA little more bite and a little less barkA little less fight and a little more sparkClose your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy meSatisfy me baby"

Jamal grabbed Mercedes from the front row and brought her in to dance. The rest of the Glee crew followed leaving Layla sitting on the chairs watching. Jamal followed Mike's dancing, adding his own moves in, receiving a huge cheer from the group.

"Come on baby I'm tired of talkingGrab your coat and let's start walkingCome on, come onCome on, come onCome on, come onDon't procrastinate, don't articulateGirl it's getting late, gettin' upset waitin' around."

The music stopped and Jamal grinned, finishing with flare.

"You're good kid." Puck said, giving the freshman a punch on the arm. "At least in here. I'll wait to see on the field how you are there."

Jamal smiled. "Thanks."

.

Mike sat out in his car, checking his text messages before he drove off. A blur caught his eye and he looked up to follow it. It was Tina.

"Hey Tee."

The girl gave him a shy smile. "Oh, hey Mike."

"Waiting for a ride?"

"N-No. I have to walk. My d-dad is busy at the firm today and my mom had to take David to practice." She shouldered her backpack. "I'll s-see you at glee tomorrow."

"Hey…come on, I'll give you a ride. It's too late to be walking, even in Lima." He flashed her a smile.

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble."

"For a girl like you? No trouble at all." He opened up his car door and waited for her to get in.

They drove in relative silence until Mike turned to her. "Layla and Jamal are pretty cool."

She nodded. "Yep."

"You said you met Layla at camp? What kind of camp?"

She froze. "J-just a camp. U-up in Minnesota."

"Oh." He racked his brain for a new topic. "Layla is cute."

The look on Tina's face told him that was the wrong topic.

"I mean…she's cute…but not…in a way that I like. I mean…I like my girls…"

"More like Brittany?" She filled in with a sad look.

"No…no…I like my girls more like…"

"My house is right there. T-thanks for the ride." Tina said softly getting out of the car.

"More like you." Mike whispered, watching as she disappeared into the house. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel getting a large honk for his troubles. God damnit it Chang, why are you such a loser? He berated himself? Why must you screw up everything? Why must you suck at life? He pressed his head against the steering wheel before driving away slowly. Why must you screw up the one good thing in your life?


	2. Chapter 2

"Layla, take your pills." Her mother called from the kitchen as Layla and Jamal entered the house. The tiny girl rolled her eyes.

"Mum, I'm FINE." She replied, positioning herself lightly on one leg to remove her shoes. "It doesn't hurt."

Her mother, all 5'11 of her, stuck her head around the corner. "I don't think so. I know you think that you have a high pain tolerance and all, but the doctor said that you need to keep taking the anti-inflammatory and painkillers for the next few weeks. Then he'll put you on weaker ones until you can walk by yourself."

"I CAN walk by myself." Layla argued, kicking her crutches aside. She took a large step forward, the pain shooting through her reconstructed knee and up to her fused vertebrae. Jamal caught her before she hit the floor.

"Yeah right." He muttered, placing her on the nearest chair.

Sarah Ahmed shook her head and placed a cupful of pills on the table along with a glass of water. "Layla, you have to stop being so stubborn." She sighed and perched on the side of the chair. "So how was school? Did you see Tina?"

Layla begrudgingly swallowed the pills and leaned against the overstuffed chair. "School was okay, had some classes with Tina."

"And?"

"Layla joined Glee club." Jamal finished with a smirk. He winced when he felt his sister's fist connect with his ribs. "What? You did."

"So did you." Layla retorted. "Mum, Tina is in it. It's a way to be involved in school without being in cheerleading."

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Her mother asked, patting the girl's leg.

"Mother, it's singing. I'm not going to be doing flips."

"Layla, there are expectations of people who are on stage…"

Layla rolled her eyes. "Mother. This is DIFFERENT. Tina's in the glee club. There's a boy in a wheelchair. Glee club isn't like cheerleading. Plus, Jamal is in it too, so if things get 'to intense'" She made air quotes and continued "he'll let you know. Right Jamal?"

"." Jamal whined. "I have baseball tryouts."

"Baseball tryouts are at six. Glee is at 3:30. You can do both." Layla smirked at her younger brother.

"Laylay, I'm fifteen…I'm the youngest in glee. They don't need me."

"No, but your sister needs you." Sarah Ahmed glared at her son. "I'm going to go check on Abdul. And this discussion is OVER Jamal."

Jamal groaned and slid into the couch. "Thanks a lot Lay."

She shrugged and rubbed her knee frowning.

.

"Stupid math." Layla muttered shouldering her backpack. "Stupid heavy books, stupid calculator. Stupid stupid stupid." She frowned and started hobbling down the hallway. "Stupid stairs." Slowly she made her way up the stairs, teetering precariously as she started to head up to her third period class. She felt her crutch slip, her hands grasping wildly at anything that could break the fall. At the last second she felt a pair of strong hands grab her from behind, no doubt saving her life.

"Are you okay?" The voice was soft and deep.

"Y-y-y-yeah. I am now." She blinked madly and felt her saviour carry her to the second floor. He put her down gently and took a few steps so he was in front of her. "M-m-matt."

He smiled softly. "Hey. I was late for math…" He started.

"Thanks." She smiled and readjusted her backpack. "Guess I'm back heavy."

Matt gently took off her backpack and carried it. "There you go. This way you're not weighed down. I think your books weigh more than you do."

Layla gave him a thankful smile. "Thanks for the help Matt."

They made their way down the hallway, Matt opening the door into the math class.

"Mister Rutherford. Any reason as to why you're late today?" Mr. Nichols asked, glaring at the tall boy over his glasses.

"Actually yes. I had to save the life of a damsel in distress." He flashed Layla an ear to ear grin as she hobbled in behind him.

Layla pulled a slip of paper out of her pocket and handed it to the teacher. "I'm Layla Ahmed. New transfer student."

Mr. Nichols stared at the piece of paper before pointing to a seat. "Go grab a seat. We're working on algebra."

Matt smiled and helped Layla to her seat. He handed her books and placed her backpack on her chair behind her.

So maybe math class wasn't SO stupid.

.

"Chang. Changster. Yo, MIKE."

Mike looked up from his lunch and blinked a few times. "Hunh?"

"Dude, what's up with you? You've been spaced out for the past…15 minutes." Puck frowned at his friend.

Picking at his lunch, Mike shrugged. "Sorry, just thinking."

Puck looked over his shoulder to where Mike had been staring earlier. "Who're you checking out? Dude, I mean Rachel is hot and all, but she's totally with Finn."

Mike shook his head. "N-no, it's not Rachel." He popped a grape in his mouth. "It's nothing. Really." He waved at Matt who was carrying Layla's backpack. Matt waved back and headed towards them.

"Hey guys. I'm going to sit with Layla over at the other table. Wanna come?"

Puck shook his head, but Mike grabbed his tray and followed Matt. "Can't let him go alone." He shrugged and headed over towards the table.

"Any chance that I can sit here?" He smiled down at the people at the table. Mercedes and Kurt exchanged stunned glances, Artie gave a small frown, but they all nodded. Tina gave him a strange look, but pulled out a chair.

"So, any chance that you guys can get more ramps in this school?" Layla asked opening her lunch. "I almost died today."

Mercedes almost choked on her drink. "Hold up, you what?"

"Almost died." Layla smiled. "Seriously. I almost died on the stairs with my crutches. But Matt caught me." She gave a soft smile to Matt who blushed. He waved his hand to dismiss the comment. "I could have died."

"Okay, so that explains why HE'S sitting here." Mercedes said. "But that doesn't explain why YOU'RE here." Turing to Mike she gave him her best glare.

"What, people can't mix things up a bit?" He sat down beside Tina and placed his lunch down. "I just got sick of sitting with those guys. The conversations of girls and parties were getting old." He flashed Mercedes his best smile. "Plus we're in Glee Club together, can't we socialize outside of Glee Club? Or is it like fight club. Rule number one of fight club. You don't talk about fight club."

Kurt blinked a few times. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The second rule of fight club. You don't talk about fight club." Tina said quietly.

"I am Jack's complete lack of surprise." Mike said with a smile. "Or should I say Mike's complete lack of surprise?"

"Are they talking in code?" Kurt asked in a loud stage whisper eliciting a laugh from everyone around the table.

"Nah, just quoting a movie." Mike said smiling at Tina who turned about four shades of red, but smiled back.

Mercedes and Kurt exchanged worried glances before they stole a glance at Artie. Everyone knew that Tina and Artie's relationship was over, but they also knew that Artie was still hung up on the pretty Asian girl. They sighed as Tina, Mike, Matt and Layla continued with their conversation using primarily Fight Club quotes.

"This is like being in an alternate universe." Kurt whined as Layla giggled over Matt saying that he'd fight William Shatner.

"You're telling me." Artie mumbled.

.

It continued into Glee club, where it seemed like every male, save for Kurt, had seen Fight Club.

"Okay, question of etiquette, as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?" Finn recited with a smile.

"Okay, any historical figure." Layla asked throwing her crutches on the floor.

"I'd fight Ghandi." Jamal answered taking a seat in the back row by Finn and Puck.

"Good answer."

"How about you?"

Layla scrunched up her face as Puck spoke over top of her. "Lincoln."

"Big guy, big reach. Skinny guys fight till they're burger." Jamal finished with a grin, slapping hands with Puck.

Will walked in the room, receiving a standing ovation from most of the girls and Kurt.

"Thank GOD you're here Mister Schuester. Now they can stop quoting that awful movie." Santana lamented.

"Awful movie?" Will cocked an eyebrow at Puck, Finn and Jamal who were still laughing in the back of the room.

"Fight Club." Puck offered with a smirk.

"I see." He rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's work on the harmonies for our first selection for the invitational…" He shook his head slightly as he saw Matt help Layla off her chair and Mike gently leading Tina to the side. "The final countdown…"

.

Mike fed his money into the vending machine and watched as two bottles of Gatorade fell out. Tina placidly sipped from her bottle of water. Matt was tearing his baseball stuff from his incredibly messy locker with Layla sitting on the ground tearing into a bag of mini carrots.

"Baseball tryouts?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah." Mike shrugged and put the Gatorade in his bag. "What're you plans for tonight?"

"Hang out with Layla. If I can tear her away from Matt that is." She said with a laugh.

"Good luck with that." Mike smiled. "I haven't ever seen him like this. Ever."

"Even with a Cheerio?" She asked, her voice slightly bitter.

"Hey now. Not all of us go for Cheerios." He gave her a half smile.

"Liar. I saw you with Brittany."

"I tutored Britt in English." He shrugged. "She passed. Barely, but she still passed."

"Oh." Tina shot a glance over to Layla who was still sitting on the floor.

"Hey Cici!" The small girl yelled, rolling over so she was on her stomach. "Are you gonna watch the ball tryouts?"

Tina frowned. "I wasn't planning on it, why?"

She waved her phone at her. "My mum is being anal and won't let me stay if you don't stay!" Pulling herself up she hobbled towards Mike and Tina. "Tell her you're gonna stay. She said she can pick you up after and drop you off. We can work on some civics stuff…"

Tina could never say no to her friend, especially when she batted her dark eyelashes at her. "Okay fine." She turned back to Mike and she could swear he was grinning…

.


	3. Chapter 3

_Layla pulled her dark hair back in a tight ponytail. Her blue eyes darted around before tearing into a package of red berries. She threw herself on the bleachers, her left knee propped up by her book bag, her ever present crutches thrown to the side. Tina rolled her eyes, and sat down beside her friend, pulling out her civics book. _

"_So where do you want to start?"_

_The smaller girl's eyes grew large and she stared at Tina like she had grown another head. "Dude, I wasn't serious when I said when I said we were going to work on civics."_

_Tina shook her head. "Then what are we going to do? I have no idea about baseball."_

_A grin crossed Layla's face. "Then watch the scenery. I love a man in uniform." She scooted further down the bleachers until she was leaning against the backstop fence. Tina sighed and pulled herself closer to the fence. After a while, Layla pulled herself back so she was sitting next to Tina. "Hey Cici."_

"_Hmm?" Tina turned to her friend._

"_D'you…think about camp at all?" _

"_Sure. It took me a while to get used to…the new me. But, I think I'm a stronger person for going through it. Why?"_

_Layla shrugged. "Just thinking."_

"_You haven't started…you know…" Tina's voice dropped off to a whisper._

"_Nah." Layla rolled up her sleeves as if to prove a point. Red angry scars adorned her arms, but from what Tina could see they had long past healed, except a few on her left forearm. _

"_Lay?" _

_She shoved the sleeves down. "It was a few weeks ago. But I'm okay. Really." She gave Tina a smile. "Mike's a good catcher."_

"_I thought everyone had to catch to play baseball."_

"_Catch-er." Layla said with a smile. "He's behind the plate. Catching the balls that Jamal is throwing." She explained. _

_Tina nodded, watching Mike's movement. He was as graceful on the field as he was on the dance floor, his feet jumping forward and back, dropping to his knees to block an errant ball and his body launching forward to throw out someone running from first to second._

"_Where's Matt?"_

_Layla popped a red berry in her mouth. "Third base. Finn is playing first, Puck is in left field. Jamal is pitching. He also plays first or field."_

"_And I also pitch and play shortstop." Mike said, leaning against the backstop a smile on his face. _

_Tina jumped back, blushing. "…I…I thought you were…."_

"_Catching? Yeah. Water break." He grinned. "You really don't know anything about baseball do you?"_

_Tina shook her head blushing even redder. "No, my family isn't really big into sports." She looked around for Layla, but she had already gone to the other side of the fence and was talking animatedly with Matt. "She's quick, even on those crutches."_

_Mike laughed. "Stealthy is more like it." He ran his hand through his sweaty hair. "Did you get any civics work done?"_

"_N-no. Layla told me to relax and watch the scenery." If possible, she turned even redder._

"_I see." He unbuckled his shin pads and chest protector and threw them into a bag. "I wonder if they'll notice if we leave." _

_Tina cocked an eyebrow. "Probably not. But you have to go shower."_

"_I know." He looked down at his sweat soaked shirt. "Could you wait for me? I won't be long."_

_She looked at her watch. "I have to wait for Mrs. Ahmed anyway." _

_Smiling, Mike threw his bag over his shoulder and jogged to the change room. He stripped down and wrapped a towel around his waist and padded to the shower._

"_Hey, whatcha doing with the vampiress?" Karofsky asked from the stall next to his._

"_Hunh?"_

"_Vampiress. The goth chick. You know, the one you're talking to."_

"_Oh, Tina? I think she's cute. We're just chatting."_

"_If you l-l-l-like r-r-r-retards I guess." Karofsky said through the wall. _

_Mike frowned and turned off the water. He grabbed his towel and wrapped it tight around his waist. Slowly he grabbed his water bottle that he knew was full of ice water. He closed his eyes and took a step so he was in front of the shower Puck was occupying. Squeezing hard he smiled when he heard Karofsky squeal like a stuck pig. _

"_What the fuck Chang? That's fucking COLD!"_

"_Tina's not a retard." Mike said slowly, his voice as cold as the water that he had just doused Karofsky with. "If you don't like who I choose to date, that's fine. But keep your opinions to yourself." He spun on his heel, opened his eyes and threw his clothes on. Leaving the locker room he ran into Puck, Finn and Jamal who were carrying the equipment bags. _

"_Hey Mike." Finn said brightly._

_Narrowing his almond shaped eyes, Mike shoved past Finn and into the hall. _

"_What was that all about?" Finn asked aloud._

_Jamal shrugged. _

_._

_Tina sat on the bleachers watching Layla and Matt. Layla was bouncing a baseball between two bats, much to Matt's pleasure. Tina shook her head. If people thought Rachel Berry was energetic, just wait until they met Layla. She was like a firecracker with an unlimited supply of explosives. She wasn't loud like Rachel, but she could give her a run for her money, bum leg or not._

"_They're still at it?"_

_Tina looked up at Mike who was towering over her, a grin on his face._

"_Yeah. Must be an interesting conversation." _

_Mike sat down beside her and looked down at his hands. "Tina, I have a question for you." He asked quietly. He felt his face flush and took a deep shuddering breath. He was shyer than anyone knew. Sure he was a football player, a baseball player, but he was different. He didn't slushie people. He didn't berate people. He got good grades. He was different._

"_Sure." _

"_Would you, you know, want to, maybe, hang out, outside of glee I mean?" Mike mumbled, keeping his eyes on his hands. "I totally understand if you say no. Actually, know what, forget I even asked." He stood up quickly. Tina reached out and softly placed her hand on his arm._

"_Mike, are you asking me out on a date?"_

_He brought his eyes up to meet hers. "If I was, would you say yes?"_

"_If you where I would say yes." _

_Mike nodded. "I'm asking you out." He sat down beside her, a small smile coming to his lips. _

"_Can I ask you one question?" She asked quietly._

"_Shoot."_

"_Why me?" Tina gave him a pointed look. "You and I…we're not the same. I know that we're Asian and Other Asian…but you're a football player…I'm a goth chick. We go together like…peanut butter and mustard…"_

_Mike laughed. "Tina…I'm just good at sports, but, it's not who I am. It's what I do." He took her hand in his. "I know that it seems like a stretch, like we're too different…but…you know what they say, opposites attract." He pointed to Matt and Layla who were still talking. Matt was sitting on the ground, his back against the fence, Layla sitting next to him. "You can't tell me that they're two people you would expect together."_

"_She IS a cheerleader." Tina said with a shrug._

"_She's not a self centred, pretentious snob." Mike replied. "She's nothing like the cheerios, and she's everything they're not." He sighed. "Tina, I know it's hard to believe, but some of us don't want a cheerio. Some of us don't want a brainless drone shoved into a tight uniform. Some of us want more…something different."_

_Tina stared at him and a small smile played on her lips as his hand found hers._

_._

"_That's my Mum." Layla said with a sigh. Matt smiled and shouldered her backpack. _

"_I'll carry your stuff to the car."_

_Jamal rolled his eyes and trotted off towards the car. Sarah watched out of the corner of her eye as Layla and Matt approached the car. _

"_Who's that with Layla?"_

"_Matt. He's on the baseball team and in Glee Club." Jamal said shrugging. "He seems like a cool guy. Oh, and Tina said that she doesn't need a ride."_

_She watched as Matt gently helped Layla into the front seat and placed her crutches and backpack in the back seat. He smiled at Sarah nervously and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "I'm Matt…Rutherford." He said softly. _

_Sarah smiled. "Hi Matt."_

"_I'll see you in Math tomorrow." Layla said rolling her eyes towards her mother. _

"_I'll meet you by your locker." Matt replied taking a step back from the car and giving a small wave. He watched as the car pulled away from the curb and drove down the street._

_._

_Mike shoved his hands into the pockets of his letterman jacket and walked beside Tina. "So do you have any siblings?" He asked taking a sip of the hot chocolate they picked up along the way._

"_One younger brother. Logan." She looked over at him. "How about you?"_

"_Three older brothers. Matthew, Maddox, Mason and me. And yes, I realise that ALL of us have names that start with M. My parents weren't really all that original." He rolled his eyes. "Matthew is happily married and is a computer software designer in Columbus, with two kids. Maddox is engaged to a girl, he goes to Penn State on a full academic scholarship. Mason graduated last year and is planning on going NYU." He shrugged. "My family is always full of overachievers."_

"_And you're just following the model. Football player, baseball player, on the honour roll…"_

"_I'm average. Matt got the looks, Maddox got the brains and Mason got the athletic ability. I'm just Mike. Plain old Mike. My family likes to remind me of that all the time."_

_Tina gave him a soft smile. "Well, can any of your brothers dance the way you do?"_

"_No, dancing is for chicks according to them. And my father."_

_She smiled down at her cup. "Well, I know it won't make much of a different, but I think you're pretty special. I was never average. I was Tina, the girl who couldn't speak English properly, Dad was working in China when I was born. Then I was Tina, the girl who had a stutter. Now I'm Tina the goth loser chick who's in the Glee club."_

"_I don't look at you're a loser." Mike said throwing his empty cup into the trash. "I think you're pretty amazing." He said blushing furiously. _

_They walked in a silence that neither could label as uncomfortable until they were standing in front of Tina's home. _

"_Well, I guess this is it for tonight."_

_She shrugged. "My dad won't be home for hours, he's working in a big case with Layla's dad. My mom has book club until late."_

_He looked down at his watch. "I'll give my mom a heads up not to save me food."_

_._

_**Okay, here's the deal. I'm holding chapter four hostage until I get…four reviews. I know there are more than four of you guys following this story…so there it is. Uno, dos, tres, quatro!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Tina opened the door and placed her bag in the corner. "Jessie, Logan, I'm home."

A young woman stuck her head around the corner and smiled. "Hi Tina. We're just finishing up in here. Your mother left a few minutes ago, she said not to wait up for her."

Rolling her eyes, Tina waited for Mike to take off his shoes and jacket and they walked into the living room. Logan sat amongst a pile of Lego sorting the colours and creating larger bricks. "Logan had a great afternoon today, no behaviours. And we worked on our introductions and personal space."

Tina sat down across from the boy and motioned for Mike to sit down. "That's great. Logan, this is my friend Mike, can you introduce yourself?"

Logan slowly pulled his eyes up and looked at Mike. "Hello, my name is Logan Cohen-Chang." He said stiffly extending his hand.

"Hi, I'm Mike Chang."

"Hello Mike Chang. It is very nice to meet you. Have you had a good day today?"

Mike shot Tina a look of confusion. "I did. How was your day?"

"It was great. It was nice meeting you Mike." Logan said, freeing the pile of Lego Tina held. He grunted and crawled across Tina to get to a pile of blues. Tina laughed and rubbed the boy's head.

"Good job Logan. Okay, I'm going to go make some supper."

"Pizza?" Logan looked up hopefully.

"Sure." She stood up with some help with Mike and walked to the kitchen. "Sorry about that." Tina blushed furiously. "That's Logan." She riffled through the cupboard. "He's eight…and has autism."

Mike nodded mutely, wracking his brain for any information on autism he had stored away. "He's pretty high functioning though?"

Tina smiled. "He is. He's doing really well since Jessie came into the picture. She's a godsend. She works with Logan everyday after school." She pulled out three pizza crusts and a jar of sauce. "Though he must like you. He rarely speaks to anyone but us."

"I'm a big kid. I'm non-threatening." Mike smiled. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I think we're set." Tina said with a soft smile. She lined up pizza toppings on the counter. "Do you mind if Logan makes the pizzas? Jessie has been working with him on meal making."

"No, that'd be great." Mike took a step back and watched as the younger boy walked into the room.

Jessie gave him knowing smile. "Okay Logan, you better ask Mike what he wants on his pizza." Jessie prodded.

"On your pizza?"

"Sauce, ham, pineapple and cheese." Mike said with a smile, watching as Logan piled the toppings on his pizza.

"Okay, now ask Mike if he wants more."

"More?"

"No, that's great. Thanks Logan."

Tina sighed in relief as she watched Mike and Logan interact.

.

"Make them STOP." Layla whined throwing herself on the empty seat beside Tina. "I swear, if one more Cheerio comes up and asks me to join their team I'm going to pull Death Proof on them. And yes, I mean I'm going to lock them in a classic American muscle car and kill them all."

Mercedes laughed, grinning at the smaller girl. "That bad?"

"I may actually kill Santana and Brittany too if they get in my way." She scowled as the two Cheerios walked in the door. "Don't try me Barbie."

Santana glared at Layla. "Ms Sylvester wants to see you after Glee."

"Oh joy of joys. Tell her, for the last time…I. Am. Not. Joining. The. Cheerios."

"Okay everyone, grab a seat." Will said, shooting Layla and Santana a look. "We are in Glee club TOGETHER. I don't expect you guys to all be best friends, but I do expect you to get ALONG. Which is why I'm disturbed to see the infighting we have here, so for our weekly assignment we're going to pair off. I will pair you off. Santana and Layla."

Layla rolled her eyes and groaned. "Mr. Schue…"

"No buts Layla. Rachel and Jamal. Mike and Mercedes. Finn and Quinn. Kurt and Puck. Matt and Brittany. Tina and Artie." Will looked around the room. "I want you guys to sit down and talk, and find something in common. Find a song that you guys can agree on."

.

Mercedes threw her books down and sat across from Mike who was deeply engrossed in his text message.

"Hey Mercedes."

She stared at him until he looked up. "What's up with you and Tina?"

"Pardon?" He put his phone down and stared at Mercedes.

"You and Tina. What's up? Is she just another one of your conquests? A bet you made with the football team?" She sat down and glared. "What is she to you?"

Mike narrowed his eyes and ran his hands over his face. "Mercedes, I don't know what the hell you're at, but Tina…and I…."

"Mike, I don't know if you noticed…but her breakup with Artie…yeah it wasn't pretty. I don't want her to get hurt again, especially by another person in the Glee club. By football player. By you."

Taking a deep breath, Mike shook his head. "Mercedes, I don't know what happened between Artie and Tina…but I can promise you this. Tina isn't a "conquest." I'm sure there are stories about me, but that's all they are. Stories. I've never BEEN with anyone before. That's right, I'm a virgin. She's not a bet. She's…special."

"Damn rights she's special." Mercedes said softly, watching Mike with a watchful eye. "She's amazing."

"Yes she is." He bit his lower lip. "Hey 'Cedes?"

"Yeah?"

"This doesn't leave the room, right?"

"Nah boy, it doesn't."

.

"Noooope." Layla said spinning a quarter on the table. "Not singing California Gurls."

"Why not? It's a totally popular song."

"It's crap, that's why."

Santana flipped through her Ipod. "Ke$ha?"

"Craaaaaaaaaaaap." Layla spun the quarter faster. "Don't you have any GOOD music?"

"Okay little miss perfect…"

Layla raised an eyebrow. "'Scuse me?"

"Yeah you heard me. Too cool for cheerleading, too cool for everyone. But you still get the boy."

Pulling out her Ipod, Layla flipped through a few songs before settling on a specific tune. "Do you do Shakira?"

Santana cocked an eyebrow. "YOU do Shakira?"

"Trust me, there are things about me you don't know." She pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You know that it's not that I don't want to join the Cheerios, right? I can't. If I do one more flip and I crack something…I could end up like Artie."

"Have you told Ms. Sylvester that?" Santana asked looking through Layla's Ipod.

"Yeah, she doesn't care."

"I'll talk to her again."

.

"What type of music do you like?"

Jamal shrugged. "Classic rock mostly." He dug into the desktop with a pen. "We can sing a show tune though, I know that's the stuff that you like."

Rachel smiled. "Do you have any of your favourite songs on your Ipod?"

"Yeah." He pulled it out of his pocket. "I'm big into Burton Cummings right now."

"Who?"

Jamal shook his head. "Forget about it. I hear that you like Wicked…we could do a song from there."

"No Jamal, I really want to hear it."

He shrugged and turned it on. "It's called my own way to rock…I was thinking because you know, both of us rock differently…"

Rachel nodded. "I could get into this."

.

"Do you like weasels?"

"What?" Matt stared at Brittany.

"Weasels. How about porcupines. Hey, do they have a song about porcupines?"

"Probably not."

The blonde sighed. "They NEVER have any songs about good animals. Old McDonald was racist."

Matt shook his head. "What?"

"Racist. He only picked farm animals."

With a soft thud, Matt slammed his forehead against the desk.

.

"So."

Tina stared at Artie. "So." She hung her head. "I'm sorry Artie."

"About what? About the fact that you broke up with me? About the fact that you've been ignoring me? The fact that you've moved on and I'm still hung up you?" Artie spit out. "What should you be sorry about?"

"Artie, I love you. I really do. But I'm not IN love with you anymore." Tina sighed. "And I haven't moved on."

"What's with you and Mike?"

Tina shrugged. "He's just a friend."

"I told you last year that he had the hots for you. Do you believe me now?"

Staring at her hands, Tina sighed and listened to Artie continue his rant.

.

"Need a ride?"

Tina smiled and threw her bag into the back of Mike's car. "Sure. How did your meeting go with Mercedes?"

"She's scary." Mike admitted. "Really scary. How did yours go with Artie?"

Her silence was enough of an answer.

"That good, eh?"

"Yeah."

They drove in relative silence before Mike pulled up to Tina's home. "Thanks for the ride Mike."

"No problem." He put the car into park. "Hey Tina…"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Jessie was saying something about Logan loving Lego." He rubbed his neck nervously.

"Yeah. That's one of his 'things.' He'll play Legos forever." Tina grabbed her bag. "So?"

Mike got out of the car and popped his trunk. He pulled out a large tub and smiled. "I talked to my mom and turns out that we have a lot of Lego hanging around our place. I figured that Logan would enjoy it."

"Mike…you didn't have to." Tina said, staring at the giant tub he had balanced in his hands.

He shrugged. "I know." He glanced down. "I'm sorry, I understand if you don't want it. I mean, I didn't meat to imply that you guys can't afford to buy Lego or anything…" he started to ramble.

Tina swallowed her grin and stretched on her tiptoes, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Shut up." She whispered. It shocked both of them, her shy bravado and his reluctance. But the kiss, it was right. So right. Except for the giant intruding box of Lego.

They pulled away slowly, never breaking eye contact.

"Wow." Mike whispered a small smile playing on is lips.

"Yeah." Tina smiled. "Wow is right."

He motioned to the giant tub he was still holding. "Can I bring this in?"

"Oh. Yeah." Tina fumbled with her keys and opened the front door. "Jessie, Logan, I'm home."

"In the family room!" Jessie called.

Mike raised his eyebrows at the sounds coming from the far room. Screams, squeals, grunts and swears. "Uh…"

"Bad day." She shrugged and tossed her jacket in the corner. "Need help Jessie?" They walked into the family room standing off to the side. Jessie was sitting on the couch watching Logan as he spun around the room, throwing anything in sight, swearing and grunting.

"Nah. He's just a little off today. Apparently had a bad day at school." She raised her eyebrows at Mike. "Carrying a dead body there?"

He shook his head. "No. I brought some of my old Lego…for Logan."

The boy stopped and stared at Mike. "Lego for Logan?"

Jessie put up her hand and motioned for them to sit down. "Yes, Mike brought Lego for you Logan. But before you can see it, you have to clean up the mess you made and apologize to Jessie."

Logan's face screwed up before he took a deep breath and started scooping up the toys he had thrown. A few minutes later he crawled up to Jessie and hugged her legs. "Sorry Jessie."

"Okay Logan, I accept your apology. Now you can ask Mike to see what he brought you."

Crawling up to Mike, Logan grabbed the bin.

"No way Logan. You ask Mike 'Mike may I see what you brought?'" Jessie said grabbing Logan and pulling him back.

"See what you brought?" Logan asked hopefully.

"Sure buddy." Mike placed the bin on the ground and pulled off the lid.

"Wow!" Logan exclaimed, dumping the contents on the floor.

"What do you say Logan? Wow or Thank you?" Jessie prodded.

"Thank you." Logan mumbled already sorting the colours.

"Thanks Mike. That's an awesome gift." Jessie said with a smile. "It'll keep him busy for days."

"No problem." He shrugged off the compliment like it was nothing. He wasn't going to admit that he hunted in his over packed basement for three hours for the Lego or that he cracked his head on a support beam and almost got speared by Maddox's archery gear. Tina tugged on the sleeve of his sweater and they left the room, retreating to the kitchen. She filled two glasses with water and placed them on the counter.

"Thanks for that Mike. I've never see Logan react like that. Most people treat him like he's a freak." She spit out the last word harshly. "He's not."

Mike sat closer to her. "I know he's not. If he's important to you…then he's important to me."

.

Chapter 4 RELEASED! (On good behaviour!)

I'm not sure why the formatting went all strange. I think it's 's way of telling me it hates my stories. And I LOVE the reviews! Review review review and I may release the next one. J

Cheers! Jas


	5. Chapter 5

"It could be worse."

Layla cocked an eyebrow and buried her head in her locker. "Nope. Couldn't be." Her voice echoed in the metal box. "Seriously. My blow dryer died, figured out that I had a hole in my shoe, Abdul dumped his cereal on me, AND I forgot my calculator for my math exam." She pulled her head out and slumped to the floor. "I should have just stayed in bed."

"But your parents would have killed you." Tina replied rolling her eyes at Kurt and Mercedes who just laughed.

"Shuddup Tina." Layla moaned. "Today is NOT going to be a good day."

"Tell me about it." Santana cut in, stepping into the group with Quinn and Brittany beside her. "Tried to talk to Ms. Sylvester."

"And?"

"No go." Santana shrugged.

"And we got yelled at." Brittany interjected.

Layla shook her head. "See, day just got worse." She started to hobble away to meet Matt for math class when a large body blocked her way.

"Hey faggot. Heifer. St-st-st-stutter fly. Sluts." Karofsky and Azimio smiled at them.

"Excuse me?" Layla looked up at the two with a frown on her face. "What did you just say?"

"I called gay boy over there a faggot. Fatty a heifer, gothica stutter fly and the three sluts…sluts." Karofsky said shrugging. He swirled his slushie around in his cup. "Gotta figure out what to call you. Cripple?"

"Nah, kid in the wheelchair's already got that one." Azimio said with a laugh. "We'll think of something."

Karofsky nodded in agreement and dumped the red slushie on Layla before turning around.

"Crap." Tina mumbled under her breath.

"We'll help you Layla…" Mercedes offered before stepping back in horror.

Layla nudged Karofsky with the end of her crutch and waited for him to turn around. Tina closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable to be over. The others, not used to Layla, watched in horror as Layla reached up and slammed the heel of her hand into Karofsky's nose. A sickening crack was heard and blood started to flow immediately.

"Fuck! You bwoke my NOSE!" He moaned reaching for her.

"Get OFF OF ME!" Layla roared as she felt Karofsky lift her off her feet. He threw her back into the lockers, but quickly, ignoring the pain in her knee, she got on her feet and threw herself onto Karofsky, fists flying.

"I've never quite seen anything like this…" Kurt whispered in shock.

The circle grew larger as more people came to see the fight, including Mr. Schuester. He grabbed the small girl off of the bully and waited for Coach Tanaka to grab Karofsky.

"You're with me Karofsky. Nurse's office, then Principal Figgin's office." He pulled the boy behind him by the collar of his shirt.

Will looked at Layla who was covered in red slushie and blood, still vibrating with what could only be anger. "Layla?"

"You didn't hear what they said Mr. Schue. And he dumped a slushie on me." Layla started. "Take me to Mr. Figgins, give me detention, I don't care." She slumped against the locker, sliding to the floor.

Will looked at the remaining members of the Glee Club. "Girls, can you clean Layla up and then take her to Miss Pillsbury?"

Quinn nodded. "Sure Mr. Schue." She held her hand out for Layla. "Come on Layla."

The five girls ushered Layla into the washroom leaving Will and Kurt standing in the hallway. "What happened Kurt?"

"Karofsky and Azimio did their usual insults and then tossed a slushie on Layla. She flipped and beat the crap out of them." He smiled. "It was quite amazing actually."

Will sighed. "You guys have to stop taking these guys on."

"Mr. Schue, we would if it was that easy." Kurt said over his shoulder walking to class.

.

"You get used to it." Mercedes said as she rinsed the red sugar out of Layla's long hair.

"But did you hear what they called you guys?" Layla sat up and wrung her hair out. "The slushie, whatever. My mom is going to shit a brick about it staining, but it's nothing. Being called a slut?" She looked towards the three Cheerio members. "A heifer? Stutterfly? Come ON guys, people can't treat you like that."

"Sure they can." Mercedes shrugged in defeat. "We're in glee. People can do whatever they want to us. It's like a rule."

Layla turned her back and stripped off her long sleeve shirt and pulled on a dry one from her bag. "It shouldn't be. I can't believe you guys just LET it happen."

"We don't really have any other options." Quinn said softly.

Cocking an eyebrow and grabbing her crutches Layla shook her head. "You do now." The group left the washroom and headed towards Emma's office.

The redheaded guidance counsellor sat in her chair and ushered the girls in. "Layla, please take a seat. Everyone else, you can go to class. Your teachers have been notified that you will be tardy."

Santana, Brittany and Quinn nodded and walked out of the small office. Mercedes ran her hands through Layla's hair. "No worries girl, you'll be fine."

Tina smiled at Layla and then worriedly at Emma. "Everything is going to be fine. Right?"

Emma nodded. "Thanks for your concern Tina. We'll be fine."

Layla tossed her crutches to the side and leaned back against the chair. "So…I have to talk to you about my feelings? Trust me. I've done it before."

Smiling serenely Emma looked the girl across from her over. "Layla, why did you break Dave Karofsky's nose?"

"Because I thought that he would look better like that." Layla retorted quickly, picking at her nails.

"Is that so?"

"Miss Pilsbury, please don't even try. I did it because I was offended by what they said. If I had two good knees I would have taken on the other guy too." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "They can call me whatever names, but not my friends."

Emma looked down at her file. "It's not what it says here."

The girl's face reddened. "I know it's in my file, but you don't have to throw it back at me." She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't my fault."

"You broke his nose."

"He deserved it." Layla rolled up her sleeves and showed her arms to Emma. "You know that I used to self-injure, but I don't do it anymore. I'm not going to slice my arms with your scissors because someone dumped a slushie on my head. I broke his nose because he's a jackass and he was being insulting to me and my friends." She rolled down her sleeves. "Can I go now?"

Emma nodded silently and watched as the small girl hobbled out of the room.

.

Will sighed and stared at the members of the Glee club. "Why do you guys HAVE to pick fights with the football team?"

Layla put up her hand. "Well Mr. Schue, in my own defense I wouldn't say that I picked the fight per say. They kind of picked it FOR me. And secondly, why is it such a big deal? Those dolts need to be taken down a peg…or six. They can't be allowed to insult people like that, isn't there a law against hate speech in this God forsaken place?" She shook her head and turned her chair around so she was facing the rest of the club. "Seriously, why do you guys LET them do that to you? Mercedes, you have a kick ass voice, an amazing sense of style and are all in all a great person. Why do you let them bring you down?…"

"Okay Layla, you can go on a United Nations equality rant later." Will shook his head. "I want to hear some song choices. Anyone?"

Jamal put up his hand. "Uh…Rachel and I have one."

"Sure, go ahead."

Rachel skipped up to the front of the choir room with Jamal taking a seat at the piano. The room went silent as they watched Jamal's hands fly across the keyboard and their voices blending together in harmony.

_Baby said she loved meThen she went and left meCausin such an awful sceneWhat a sceneI'm gonna take my silver dollarChange it into quartersShove 'em in the record machine'Cause I got my own way to rockI got my own way to rollAnd when you're walkin that walkIt's good for your soul_

Will blinked a few times after the song was over. "Jamal, you never said you played piano."

The boy shrugged. "You never asked." He smiled and sat back down.

"Dude, that was awesome." Puck nodded in appreciation. "Man, your fingers must have some SKILLS."

"Anyone else?" Will asked before the conversation got to where he knew it would go with Puck.

Artie rolled forward. "Well, Tina and I didn't really pick a song…but I did." He connected his Ipod to the speaker.

_Do you remember the day I turned to you and saidI didn't like the way he was lookin' at you, yeahAnd how he made you laughYou just couldn't get what I was sayin?It was my imaginationSo do you believe me now?I guess I really wasn't that crazyAnd I knew what I was talkin' 'boutEvery time the sun goes downHe's the one that's holdin' you babyYeah, and me I'm missin' you way across townSo do you believe me now?I'm kickin' myself for bein' the one foolish enoughGivin' him the chance to step in my shoes, ohHe was bidin' his time when he saw our love was havin'A moment of weakness, he was there between usSo do you believe me now?I guess I really wasn't that crazyAnd I knew what I was talkin' 'bout?Every time the sun goes downHe's the one that's holdin' you babyYeah me, I'm missin' you way across townSo do you believe me now?Ooh yeah, I bet now you see the lightOoh yeah, what's the use in bein' right?When I'm the lonely one tonightSo do you believe me now?I guess I really wasn't that crazyAnd I knew what I was talkin' 'boutEvery time the sun goes downHe's the one that's holdin' you babyYeah, and me I'm missin' you way across townSo do you believe me now?Yeah, so do you believe me now?Yeah, every time the sun goes downHe's the one that's holdin' you babyYeah, and me I'm missin' you way across townSo do you believe me now?_

He looked at Tina with a sad look and up at Mike. Will looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. It was going to be a looooong year.

.

"Artie looked pissed." Mike said quietly.

"Yeah." Tina sat on the railing kicking her legs. "He did."

He bit his lip. "Tina…what are we? I mean, I don't want to rush you or anything, but are we? Or was that a one time thing?" He cleared his throat. "Tina, I really like you. Like like you like…" His voice trailed off.

"Mike I don't want you to do anything to…I mean…you're a football player, I'm a Glee kid."

"Tina, my rep doesn't matter for me. It never has. I play football because it's what my parents want. I do glee because it's what I want. I don't do what people expect me to, I do what my heart tells me to."

Her voice when soft. "And what does your heart tell you?"

Leaning in close, she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. "My heart is telling me to kiss you."

She smiled. "You should follow your heart."

The kiss was sweet, but left them both wanting more. "Mike…I really like you. I think that we should give this a try…but…" She took a deep breath, "I'm afraid."

"Of what?" He gently cupped her chin and brought her eyes up to his.

"I don't want to get hurt again."

He placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "I promise, I'll never hurt you Tina. You mean too much to me."

.

**Yay! Next chapter released!**

**Anyone else fall in love with Mike over again last night? OMG ABS! Remember, reviews are love!**


	6. Chapter 6

Mike waited outside the school for Tina, perching on the railing. He looked at his watch for the fifteenth time since claiming his spot on the railing. Mercedes and Kurt walked towards him, their arms linked.

"Good morning Mike." Mercedes said softly, freeing herself from Kurt.

He nodded in acknowledgement and glanced at his watch again. "What time does Tina usually come in?"

Mercedes laughed and shook her head. "Boy, you got it baaaaad." She patted him on the back. "She's here usually by 8:30...so….in a few minutes."

"Thanks." He gave Mercedes a small smile. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Mercedes leaned against the railing. "Shoot."

"I…I want to do something amazing for Tina. I don't want a regular run of the mill date, I want something that will…astonish her." He blushed six shades of red. "Can you help?"

The black girl smiled, her dark eyes dancing. "'Course I can."

"Thanks Mercedes. Thanks a lot."

She smiled and gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. "Anytime."

He sat on the railing until he saw Tina get out of a red SUV. She slung her bag over her shoulder and smiled as Layla and Jamal quickly followed. Jamal waved and jogged over to where Puck, Finn and the rest of the jocks were standing and the two girls walked slowly towards the school. Matt ran over to Layla and grabbed her bag. The small girl was off of her crutches, but was still walking slowly and stiffly. Mike jumped off the railing and jogged to catch them.

"Hey guys." He flashed a smile to the two girls. "You look like you're walking better Layla."

"Six months ago I would have said that I'm walking far worse, but considering my previous circumstance, yes I'm walking better." She smirked at Mike. "Sorry, I've been told that I compensate with sarcasm."

Mike blinked. "Ya think?""

She linked arms with Matt and rolled her eyes. "I speak three languages fluently. English, sarcasm and profanity."

Tina shook her head. "I thought you also spoke Spanish and Arabic?"

"Sarcasm Tina." Layla rolled her eyes and grinned. "Matt, I have to go speak to Ms. Dangstorp about my History term paper."

"I'll come with you." He said automatically, shooting his best friend a coy look.

"Soon they're going to be attached at the hip." Mike said with a tight smile.

Tina followed the couple with her eyes before looking back to Mike. "Uh…yeah." She shook her head slightly before turning back to Mike. "You're here early."

He blushed, cursing his genetics. "Yeah…I…just wanted to get an early jump on the day."

"Oh." A look of concern crossed her face. "You're best friends with Matt, right?"

"Last time I checked." He shouldered his backpack and took her books from her hands. "Why?"

She chewed her bottom lip. "He better not hurt Layla." She said softly. "She's one of my best friends…and he doesn't know what she's gone through."

Mike stopped and looked at Tina. "Tee, he won't hurt her." He cleared his throat. "I like your hair by the way."

It was Tina's turn to blush. "Thanks." She fingered a lock of the hair that was dyed yellow. "Trying something different."

"It suits you." He gave her a soft smile, remembering the way she looked in her soft yellow dress the day of their mashup. "I love the colour yellow."

"Oh?" She feigned innocence, knowing full well that it was one of Mike's favourite colours.

"Yeah. It suits you." He smiled as they approached the school. "Civics class first?"

Tina made a face. "Then AP English with Hobbs. You?"

"AP English with Mitchell, then AP History." He shrugged. "The joys of having high expecting parents."

"You're telling me." Tina rolled her eyes. "I thought I was the only one that was taking all AP classes."

"Nope. Though I bet you didn't think that it was a football player that was taking AP classes." He grinned holding the door open for her.

"You don't exactly count as a 'regular' football player." Tina said blushing. "You're not like those other guys. I don't think I've ever seen you throw anyone in the dumpster like Puck…or watch like Finn…or Slushie anyone. You're different." She stopped at her locker and fiddled with the lock before opening it.

"You're right, I've never thrown anyone in a dumpster, or watched anyone do it and I've never slushied anyone." He handed her textbooks over to her. "Why would I? I know how it is to be bullied."

"YOU? Bullied?" She opened her eyes wide. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it." He leaned against her locker. "The eighth grade. I was smart, short and built like the Pillsbury doughboy…and I was the only Asian in the school. I went to the middle school in the other side of town before we moved…I ate lunch every day in the bathroom by myself."

"Then what happened?"

He grinned. "I grew six inches and kept growing. Now I'm six feet and I grew into my body."

Tina cocked an eyebrow. "Mike, I'm never going to 'grow into my body.' I am who I am." She pulled out some books before looking at him. "I won't grow out of it."

"And I never want you to." Mike said softly, shutting her locker.

They looked at each other for a really long time, neither wanting to break eye contact, neither wanting to break the moment. Neither saw the pair of blue eyes that were staring angrily at them.

.

"Where are Mercedes and Mike?" Kurt asked, picking at his salad looking pitiful. "I'm sorry to announce, but you guys are kind of boring."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot Kurt." She craned her neck to look around the cafeteria, but didn't see Mercedes or Mike. "Not sure where they are…Matt, any idea where your best friend is? Matt?"

The table turned and looked at Matt who was busy examining his hands against Layla's. He looked up at the rest of the group. "What?"

"You too are so sweet I feel like I'm a diabetic." Kurt complained. "We were wondering if you've seen Mike."

The football player shrugged. "Not since this morning. Layla?"

"He's in my English class, but other than that, no." Layla pushed her plate full of food away. "This stuff is inedible. I'm sure they're just practicing their song for glee."

"You're probably right." Kurt agreed. "And you should know better already, you don't eat the special."

Layla rolled her eyes. "I have an iron stomach, and I can't survive that crap."

Matt nudged his lunch over towards Layla. "Eat what you want."

Kurt moaned. "Ugh, and I thought Finn and Rachel were bad."

"Oh shove it Kurt." Layla said, pushing the food back to Matt. "S'okay. I'm not hungry right now. I think that…so called food made me lose my appetite." She leaned back against Matt. "Why do we have to have math after this?"

Frowning, Tina went back to her civics book, trying very hard not to concentrate where Mike and Mercedes really were…

.

"She's going to love it."

"You're sure? It isn't lame?"

"Tina likes lame." Mercedes said with a smile. "It's great."

"You're sure."

"Mike, calm down. It's going to be great…" She passed Mike the list. "I've cleared it with everyone, INCLUDING Mr. Schue. He's cool with it, especially when I told him that you were going to be singing a solo. Even Rachel is chill with the idea."

He sighed. "And Artie?"

Mercedes sat down across from the Asian and stared at him. "Mike, anything to do with Tina he's not going to like."

"But…I still want to be friends with Artie." He sighed. "I…just don't want things to be weird and screw up glee club."

"But are you willing to risk everything with Tina for hanging out and playing Halo with Artie?" Mercedes checked her watch. "Boy, sometimes you've got to make hard choices. Are you willing to risk it all? I mean, everything. You're cool here, a big football player. You know that Tina's not…are you willing to give it all up?"

He nodded. "In a heartbeat."

Mercedes grinned. "Okay, let's get plan amazing date in motion."

.

"What's Tina's favourite colour?" Mike asked Mercedes, a pen poised on a small green notebook.

"Blue."

"Favourite food?"

"Mango-orange chicken, with rice and peppered vegetables." Layla filled in with a smile.

"Flowers?"

"NOT roses." Quinn warned. "She thinks that they're too clichéd. Her favourite flowers are Japanese lilies and lily of the valley."

He scribbled madly. "You're SURE this is going to work out?"

"Trust me, on Friday, Tina isn't going to know what hit her."

.

Tina was getting frustrated. Scratch that, she was getting angry. All week it seemed like everyone was ignoring her, save for Artie and Britney. She wanted to spend as little time as possible with her ex-boyfriend and while Britney was nice enough, she was also really dumb. She sighed and thanked that it was Thursday, and only one more day of being ignored. Matt and Layla rushed by without even a second glance. They didn't bother her. According to them they were "studying math" or whatever other euphemism they were using for sex. What bothered her is that it seemed like Mike was avoiding her at all costs. Heck, he and Mercedes spent the glee club meeting practicing their duet. She spun her lock around and threw the door open. A light blue envelope was taped to the inside of her locker, she opened it up and stared at the note written in familiar handwriting.

_Meet me in the auditorium at 3:45 on Friday. _

All of her anger and frustration melted away. Friday could not come quickly enough.

.

At 3:30, all of the Glee club members, minus Artie and Tina, gathered in Mercedes's basement.

"Vehicle?" Mercedes read off.

"Got it covered." Layla grinned and wrapped her arms around Matt's midsection. "My dad is away on business with Tina's dad, and our mothers are in Cleveland with our brothers. I've got a copy of the Porsche keys. During lunch Matt is going to drive me home to pick it up and I'll park it in visitor's lot. I've already got a visitors pass from Mr. Figgins."

"Niiiice." Puck breathed. "Can I take that for a test drive?"

"Not in your life Puckerman." She retorted with a smile.

"Food?"

"Mango-orange chicken with spiced vegetables and rice with crème bruleé for desert." Quinn rattled off. "Layla and I have that covered. We've already spoken to Mrs Hibbert and she said that we can use the Home Ec lab during last period to whip it up."

"Wardrobe?"

The girls grinned. "We're going to break into Tina's at 7am tomorrow, so that'll be settled."

"Music."

"Got it." Puck nodded. "Me on guitar, Jamal on piano and Finn on drums."

"Okay, we should be set." Mercedes closed the book and smiled at Mike. "Just show up tomorrow and do your thing, boy. We'll do the rest."

Mike nodded and swallowed hard. "Thanks guys…"

Puck grinned. "Dude, you've gotta have some of the biggest cahones in the school. Seriously. To pull something off like this?"

"Ah, and they say that romance is dead." Layla said rolling her eyes and burying her face into Matt's chest.

.

**Muwahahahaha. Next chapter. I just can't get enough of Mike/Tina…sorry for the delay in posting. Real life is kicking my butt. Work school work school school work work school school work. So goes life. Remember, reviews are love! And they release the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

Layla sat in front of Tina's house waiting for the rest of the cavalry to show up. She yawned and took a sip of her jasmine tea. Her head hurt. Scratch that, her head hurt AGAIN. The pain was usually just a dull throb that she associated with the stress of honours classes. Today it wasn't a dull throb. It was a pain behind her eyes that made her swallow more Tylenol. Merceds pulled up, quickly followed by the three Cheerios. Layla hopped out of her car and the five of them walked up to Tina's house as a pack. Safety in numbers. It was 7:00 am they had an hour and a half before they had to be heading out for school, more than enough time. Mercedes rang the bell and waited as they heard Tina thunder down the stairs.

"What are YOU guys doing here?" Her hair was wet and she was wearing a short pale yellow bathrobe.

"We're here to get you ready for your date today." Santana said with a grin, pushing her way through the door.

"…How did you know?"

Mercedes scoffed. "I know that Mike is pretty romantic, but did you think that he could come up with this all by himself?"

Tina stood in the doorway and blinked a few times, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. "So you guys were in on it?"

"Well, it was all Mike's idea, we're just…" Started Quinn.

"Aiding and abetting." Layla said with a smile.

"Yes, now let's go and start." Mercedes finished, ushering Tina upstairs along with Brittany and Santana.

"Hey, CiCi, have you eaten yet?" Layla called as she watched the Asian girl being rushed upstairs.

"No…."

"I'll stay down here and make breakfast." She called, hearing the door slam.

.

Mike ran his hand along his chin for the umpteenth time that afternoon. The clock was moving backwards. Well, not completely backwards, but it wasn't moving as fast as he wanted. It was only second period and he wanted to tear his hair out. Thank god for small miracles that he only had a few classes with Tina, and they were doing group work in those classes. And they weren't in the same group. 3:45 couldn't come quick enough. He was wearing his usual attire, jeans, sneakers, a tshirt and a cardigan, but in his locker hung what he was most excited about. Black suit, black shirt, blue and white tie. He begged Mr. Schuester to keep the corsage and bouquet of flowers in the staff room fridge. He felt absolutely ill.

.

"Everyone's looking at me." Tina whined, pulling at her dress. "I look retarded."

"Blasphemy!" Kurt exclaimed, looking Tina up and down. "Girl, you look Ah-maze-ing. That dress…the colour on your is PERFECT. The makeup…completely and totally understated…and as much as it pains me to admit, Santana did a great job on your hair. You look stunning." He grinned. "And people are staring BECAUSE you lot gorgeous."

She sighed and looked down at her dress. It was prefect. A deep blue, falling to her knees, sleeveless with a long sleeved black shrug. It. Was. Perfect.

"I have to go with Kurt on this one." Santana said, gently adjusting Tina's now flowing waves. "Girl, you look muy hot." She pasted a fake scowl on her face. "Now deal with it. You're hot, so flaunt it."

"I don't WANT to flaunt it."

Layla rolled her eyes. "Well, then flaunt it to just ONE person." She grinned up at Matt who shook his head slightly.

"After school…" Tina started.

"Yeah, you'll see him after school." Layla shot a look to the girls standing around Tina, and then one at Kurt and Matt. "Okay, I've gotta run and grab Quinn. We've…uh…got stuff to discuss. Biology." She finished lamely. "Home Ec Lab. Three O'clock." She whispered harshly when Tina started gathering her books from her locker.

The group nodded silently.

.

"You're really good at this."

Layla shrugged and stirred the sauce that was threatening to boil over on the stove. "I can cook, but hate to bake. My mom cooks a lot since Abdul has a specific diet…it's something that we've always done together."

Quinn smiled. "Well you're awesome. So we have the chicken in the oven that just needs the sauce in half an hour…the vegetables are…"

"Marinated and waiting to be grilled." Layla filled in. "Spinach salad is ready, just needs the dressing."

"Looks like we're good, except for desert. I know Mike LOVES Crème brulée." Quinn's face fell slightly. "But Tina is allergic, so we'll have to find something else."

"Actually no." Layla pulled a variety of cans and boxes out of a large green bag. "We will have crème brulée, just no crème." She shrugged. "Come on, it's time consuming, but they're amazing. We can make four and have two ourselves…"

Quinn nodded. "Sounds great. Let's go before the rest of the group shows up."

.

"Okay, Jamal and Puck, you guys are going to handle the music." Layla ordered, sitting on the counter of the home ec lab and checking things off a list.

"Great, she's got a list, we're all fucked." Jamal muttered, pulling pitifully at the tie he was wearing. "Why the hell do we have to wear monkey suits?"

"Ambiance." Layla replied with a glare. "Kurt, you're the maitre d, Santana and Britt, the waitresses. Quinn and I will finish up with the food…everyone else. You're on security detail."

Finn frowned. "Security detail?"

"Artie Duty." Mercedes translated. "We got it girl, nothing's going to mess this up."

"If Artie shows, call me ASAP." Layla ordered. "I'll take care of him."

"You sure?" Finn started. "I mean…"

"I broke Karofsky's nose, I'm SURE I can handle Artie." Layla replied looking at her watch. "Okay, let's get this date on the road."

.

Mike stood in the auditorium, his hands shaking clutching the flowers and the corsage. He watched as Puck and Jamal, both in black suits came in, Jamal taking a seat at the piano and Puck grabbing his guitar. The auditorium was dark, except for a few lights and some strategically placed candles. Lilies were placed around the auditorium, centred around a small table with a white lacy tablecloth. He chewed his bottom lip nervously waiting. Maybe she wasn't going to come. She probably wasn't going to come. He should just call it off. He nervously looked towards Puck who was tuning his guitar. The other boy smiled and nodded towards the quietly opening door.

She stood there, squinting, trying to adjust to the low light. Mike swallowed hard, and started up the newly installed ramp to where she was standing. With shaking hands he extended the flowers. "They're…uh…for you." He finished lamely. "So's this." Taking her hand and gently slid the corsage on her wrist.

"Thanks…they're beautiful." She smiled, her dimple showing.

He smiled, digging the toe of his shoe into the soft carpet. "Com'on. There's…a table over there for us."

Tina followed, her eyes open in awe. "Mike…you did this…just for me?"

Shrugging, he pulled the chair out for her and then once she sat, pushed it in. He walked around to the other side and sat down with a smile. Tina looked over and saw Puck wearing a tux start playing his guitar, along with Jamal on the piano. The soft music surrounded them.

Kurt walked up to them, a bottle of sparkling cranberry juice at hand. "For you, Sir, Ma'am." He poured the juice into their glasses offering them a smile. "Your appetizer will be out soon."

Mike stretched his hand out and offered it to her. "Would you care to dance?"

She nodded slowly, taking his hand.

They spun on the softly lit floor, piano and guitar music floating softly around them.

"One word, that's all you saidSomething in your voice called me, turned my headYour smile, just captured meYou were in my future as far as I could seeAnd I don't know how it happens, but it happens stillYou asked me if I love you, if I always willWell you had me from helloI felt love start to growThe moment I looked into your eyes you won meIt was over from the start you completely stole my heartAnd now you won't let goI never even had a chance you knowYou had me from helloInside I built a wallSo high around my heart, I thought I'd never fallOne touch, you brought it downThe bricks of my defenses scattered on the groundAnd I swore to me I wasn't going to love againThe last time was the last time I'd let someone inBut you had me from helloI felt love start to growThe moment I looked into your eyes you won meIt was over from the start you completely stole my heartAnd now you wont let goI never even had a chance you knowYou had me from helloThat's all you saidSomething in your voice calls me, turns my headYou had me from helloYou had me from helloGirl, I've loved you from hello"

Tina looked up at Mike, a small smile playing on her lips. She knew the boy was probably shyer than she was, and had never heard him sing out loud. His voice was soft and breathy, but amazingly perfect.

"I hope…I hope this date is…" He started to stumble over his words.

"It's amazing." Tina finished, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I can't believe you went to all this trouble."

The music changed, still slow and romantic, but a different tune. He glanced over her shoulder. "Our salads are here."

She smiled. "It's not going to get cold anytime soon."

He nodded, holding her tight to his chest. "Whenever you're ready."

.

Matt sat in front of the door, his feet up on the garbage can, his eyes on the English book in front of him. Mercedes sat beside him filing her nails.

"We shouldn't have let Rachel and Finn watch the back door together. Who KNOWS what they're doin'." She wrinkled her nose and frowned.

"Do you really care?" Matt asked with a smirk.

"Not really." She went back to filing her nails before a soft squeak made both of them jump.

"What're you guys doing here?" Artie asked. "And what's with the back get ups?"

Matt swallowed hard, stealing a look to Mercedes. "Chilling."

"Have you seen Tina, I need to talk to her."

Mercedes frowned, her fingers flying on her cell phone…

.

Layla grabbed her phone as it vibrated on the counter. She rolled her eyes and turned to Quinn. "Are you okay with the rest of the food?"

"Yeah, it's not problem. I think everything is done for now." She gave Layla a dark look. "It's Artie, isn't it?"

"Yes." She shoved her phone in her pocket. "I'll be back before we have to serve the desert." Quickly she jogged around the auditorium, careful not to interrupt what was going on inside.

"Artie."

The boy in the wheelchair looked up at her, his blue eyes angry. "They WON'T let me in." He complained, trying to free himself from Matt and Mercedes's grips. "I NEED to talk to Tina."

Layla squatted in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Artie…I can't let you do that. She's in there on a date with Mike." She said honestly.

"That's why I have to speak to her. I…I have to prove to her that we're meant to be together." He said, jerking the chair viciously.

"Artie, do you care for Tina?" Layla asked slowly.

"Damn right I do."

"All you're going to do it hurt her if you go in there. You're going to make her hurt over again. If you really care for her, you'd want her to be happy." She stood up, allowing her words to sink in. "You'd allow her to be happy."

.

"Layla and Quinn are in on the food, right?" Tina asked as she carefully cut a piece of the chicken.

"How can you tell?" Mike asked with a smile, placing a piece of the vegetable in his mouth.

"I don't think anyone else can cook like this." She put her fork down and stared at him. His dark almond shaped eyes that were slightly larger than her own. His broad upturned nose that crinkled when he laughed. His gorgeous white teeth. His dark hair that was perfectly messed up.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked nervously.

"No." She smiled. "You have really nice teeth." Taking another bite of the food, she watched as a deep red filled his face.

They sat in a comfortable almost silence as Puck and Jamal played a different song. She closed her eyes briefly, thinking about all the work her friends put in, all to make her feel like a princess. "They did a really good job on the food."

Mike nodded in agreement. "They really did. You make good choices." He pushed his plate forward and placed his fork and knife down. "Would you care for another dance?"

She nodded silently. "Mike, this is perfect."

He grinned. "It's just beginning."

"I've got a funny feelingThe moment that your lips touched mineSomething shot right through meMy heart skipped a beat in timeThere's a different feel about you tonightIt's got me thinkin' lots of crazy thingsI even think I saw a flash of lightIt felt like electricityYou shouldn't kiss me like thisUnless you mean it like thatCause I'll just close my eyesAnd I won't know where I'm atWe'll get lost on this dance floorSpinnin' aroundAnd aroundAnd aroundAnd aroundThey're all watchin' us nowThey think we're falling in loveThey'd never believe we're just friendsWhen you kiss me like thisI think you mean it like thatIf you do baby kiss me againEverybody swears we make the perfect pairBut dancing is as far as it goesGirl you've never moved me quiteThe way you moved me tonightI just wanted you to knowI just wanted you to knowYou shouldn't kiss me like thisUnless you mean it like thatCause I'll just close my eyesAnd I won't know where I'm atWe'll get lost on this dance floorSpinnin' aroundAnd aroundAnd aroundAnd aroundThey're all watchin' us nowThey think we're falling in loveThey'd never believe we're just friendsWhen you kiss me like thisI think you mean it like thatIf you do baby kiss me againKiss me again"

Their lips touched gently, his large hands spanning her back. The shyness, the timidity…it left. They were alone in the auditorium, just the two of them, holding each other tightly in their arms…

.

**Sorry it's so broken up, but it was kind of necessary for the story. **

**Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends! No one died this thanksgiving, my brothers were stuck up a tree for an hour . It was great.**

**Anyway…anyone else excited for tomorrow?**


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